I’m so glad you noticed my blog! Thanks for posting! I would be honored to test out the Monique. In fact, I’m pretty close to putting my order in for one. I was really hoping to have one by the time I leave on tour but with all the other last minute things I need I don’t think it’s going to happen….I’m going on the road with O.A.R. playing with an artist named Kelley James and I’ll be gone for the next few months. But I plan on placing my order for a Monique as SOON as I get back! And if I manage to make it through your area of CA I may have to stop by and say hey! Best of luck Jule, you deserve it for making such awesome gear!!

Jule

I am NOT a fan of Sadowsky at all. I’ve tried 6 in my lifetime, some NYC models, some Metros, and they ALL felt stiff to me and the preamps are just way too hot and sizzly for my playing style. It was like no matter what I did I just couldn’t get that bright metal clanky sound out. Jimmy Coppolo is now making a passive P or J with no paint on it for $2500….you should totally look into it….it’ll make you think twice about those laklands too!

My Lakland on the other hand is so sturdy and so playable the neck is so well made, same with the Tobias, both make excellent necks but their bottom of the range basses do lack good tonal options.

It just makes me wanna pull out my credit card and go all out for a decent bass. The Sadowsky Metro I’ve heard good things about.

The Black Beauties are great- you might like them!

what I meant was, there was too much relief in the neck so after putting on the AC nickels, the action became difficult to deal with because the strings were now pulling the neck forward more drastically than the less tension Black Diamond nickels I had on before. So by tightening the truss and forcing the neck to become straighter, the strings now get pulled closer to the board allowing the tension to chill out a bit and make the bass a little easier to play.

I’ve come to the realization that most 40-120 roundwound sets seem to fit the right tension for my playing style. Other 45-130 such as the ACs are just a little too “tight” for my liking. Never tried MTD, Lakland, or black beauties!

This is what I’ve tried so far… all medium gauge unless stated otherwise.

MTD medium round wounds came on the bass, they seem to suit tension wise and were ok
Next set I tried was D’Addario Steels didn’t like them so gave 1 set away (I bought two) but they have settled in and are ok.
If I could only afford cheapies these will do the job.

Sunbeams are on my fretless, these strings are great just as you described, I want to try some TI flats next.

DR Hi beams on my Fender J77 (Marcus miller sig) they sound great but the G string tension is too much, tried loosening and tightening the truss, nah still tight as, it could be the set.

Lakland strings came on my Lak, just like the MTD they suit this bass but I wanted to try others, put on a set of DR Black Beauties, wow I really like these, they seem thinner than other mediums. They are somewhere between Steels & Nickels, they feel like nickels too and are light to touch and easy to slap and bend. I think the heavies will have more body.

Cheers

Berlin is a complete arrogant douche bag a-hole. If he was half as bad ass as he thought he was, he would have been in a band like Weather Report or Steps Ahead or Vital Information or some other band like that, instead, he hasn’t played with anyone but his own bands for 20 years. Ya think because no one want to play with a complete douche maybe? Probably.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f28/jeff-berlin-fb-737610/#post10391326

Thats what I think about Berlin. If he is playing his bass, great, he is worth listening too, but if he is just running his jive turkey mouth about stuff…stfu, berlin.